Review: The Eternal Ones by Namina Forna
Title: The Eternal Ones (Deathless #3)
Author: Namina Forna
Published: 13th February 2024
Genre: Fantasy
Age: YA
What’s it About?
The Eternal Ones is the third and final book in the Deathless trilogy by Namina Forna. This series follows 16-year-old Deka who lives in the patriarchal and oppressive land of Otera. When Deka underwent the Ritual of Purity at 16, she bled gold instead of red, making her an abomination in the eyes of her people. Since then, Deka has become a warrior along with other girls like her in a specially trained army, but she has also learned the truth about who she and the other girls who bled gold truly are. In this final book, Deka is on a mission to free her land and discover her true destiny.
Opinions:
Before I get to my opinions, I must thank the author and publisher for including a “The Story So Far…” section at the beginning of this book that recapped all the important plot points from the previous two books in just a couple of pages. When years go by between book releases it can be hard to remember where you’re up to - especially in books like this one with huge casts including dozens of characters - so having that little recap at the beginning was hugely helpful and something I hope to see more of going forward.
Obviously, reviewing books that come late in a series without discussing spoilers is always difficult, so I’ll have to be vague here. First of all, I ended up giving The Eternal Ones the lowest rating of the entire Deathless trilogy, even though I probably had the nicest time reading this one out of the three! The previous two books (The Gilded Ones and The Merciless Ones) were some of the most challenging books I’ve ever read, filled with horrific and graphic violence against women and girls. In book one, Deka herself is subject to horrendous violence and torture at the hands of men she trusted, family members included, and this sets the tone for everything going forward. Going into The Eternal Ones, I was expecting more of the same and while, yes, this was still an uncomfortable read at times, I was surprised at the lack of overt violence compared to the other two books which did make it a more pleasant read overall.
There are always girls like that, girls who believe so desperately that they'll get the lives they've been promised if only they sacrifice everything that they are. That's how those who have power retain it: by promising they'll share some of that power if a chosen number obey whatever commands they have been given.
That being said, it kind of also meant that the book lacked something that the others provided. The stakes here are naturally at their highest in the series, and yet I never got that impression while reading it. The characters lacked much of the urgency I felt they needed in their situation, and events unfolded with a lot of convenience to the point of plot contrivance with new characters quite literally emerging out of nowhere to offer help and provide answers and solutions. The final conflict never felt that it had the grandeur it deserved and Deka’s moment of destiny happened with so little fanfare that it did her and her story a disservice. Everything felt just a little bit too easy considering the hardships this group of characters have faced until now and the whole thing wrapped up with just a smidge too much forced “and they all lived happily ever after”.
Despite what might feel like a negative review, I honestly enjoyed The Eternal Ones and I’m thrilled to have reached the end of the series although I will miss many of the characters (Ixa and Britta in particular). I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for future books from Namina Forna and picking them up to see what she does next. Many thanks to Delacorte Press and NetGalley for the ARC.
Rating: 3/5